Bulldozers destroy 3,200-year-old Mayan pyramid in Belize

Heavy construction equipment sits dormant at the remains of a partially destroyed Mayan temple, part of the 3,200 year old site known as Noh Mul or "Big Hill." (7NewsBelize.com / Jules Vasquez)

Heavy construction equipment sits dormant at the remains of a partially destroyed Mayan temple, part of the 3,200 year old site known as Noh Mul or "Big Hill." (7NewsBelize.com / Jules Vasquez)

Crumbled shards of monochrome pottery typical of the pre-classic area, many reduced to rubble, lay scattered across the former site of a Mayan temple, destroyed by a construction crew. (7NewsBelize.com / Jules Vasquez)

BELIZE CITY – Bulldozers and backhoes have essentially destroyed one of Belize's largest Mayan pyramids, which survived millennia of storms, rain and wind only to succumb to a construction company seeking gravel for road fill.

The head of the Belize Institute of Archaeology says the destruction was detected late last week, and only a small portion of the center of the pyramid mound was left standing, according to the Associated Press. 7Newsbelize.com, the website for TV channel 7 in the small Caribbean country, accompanied a handful of archaeologists to the site recent.

'It's an incredible display of ignorance.'

- John Morris, an archaeologist with the Institute of Archaeology

They described the destruction as "intolerable."

"This is one of the worst that I have seen in my entire 25 years of archaeology in Belize," John Morris, an archaeologist with the Institute of Archaeology, told 7newsbelize.com's Jules Vasquez. "We can't salvage what has happened out here -- it's an incredible display of ignorance. I am appalled and don't know what to say at this particular moment."

Jaime Awe, director of the Institute of Archaeology, said he was sickened by the destruction of the Noh Mul pyramid and temple platform, which date back about 2,300 years. He told 7newsbelize.com it was "intolerable."